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NR Nomination

LOCATION AND PROPERTY NAME
address:3110 Portland Rd historic name:99W Drive-In Theatre
Newberg, Yamhill County current/other names:99W Twin Cinemas/Drive-In
assoc addresses:
block/lot/tax lot:
location descr: twnshp/rng/sect/qtr sect:3S 2W 16
PROPERTY CHARACTERISTICS
resource type:site height (stories):1.0 total elig resources:6 total inelig resources:0
elig evaluation: eligible/significant NR Status: Individually Listed
prim constr date:1953 second date:c.1983 date indiv listed:07/11/2014
primary orig use: RECR/CULTURE: General orig use comments:Drive-in
second orig use:
primary style: Modern Period: Other prim style comments:
secondary style: sec style comments:
primary siding: Unknown siding comments:
secondary siding:
plan type: architect:J.T. (Ted) Francis
builder:
comments/notes:
Owner interested in listing 03/15/11 (ck)
GROUPINGS / ASSOCIATIONS
Not associated with any surveys or groupings.
SHPO INFORMATION FOR THIS PROPERTY
NR date listed: 07/11/2014
ILS survey date:
RLS survey date:
106 Project(s)
SHPO Case Date Agency Effect Eval
07-0352 10/11/2011
Special Assess Project(s): None
Federal Tax Project(s): None
ARCHITECTURAL / PROPERTY DESCRIPTION
(Includes expanded description of the building/property, setting, significant landscape features, outbuildings and alterations)
The 99W Drive-In Theatre is a single-screen drive-in theater with spaces to accommodate 275 to 300 cars (note that an indoor theater with two screens is also located on the parcel). The theater is a distinct property type of the Modern era which, in this case, displays modest influences of the Googie style. The elements direct the user to and into the site, setting the tone for the outdoor movie experience. The other buildings and structures are more utilitarian, supporting the functions of the theater. The theater was built by J.T. (Ted) Francis and opened July 31, 1953. The sign, ticket booth, projection booth, and concession stand are all original to the theater grounds, which cover approximately 4.5 acres. The drive-in is presently on its third screen. Although the drive-in has remained at the same location since 1953, the boundaries of the city of Newberg have changed. In 1953 the eastern city limit of Newberg was at Villa Road, leaving the 99W Drive-In Theatre about three-quarters of a mile outside the city limits. Today the city limit has advanced a half-mile further east, past the drive-in (to where the Newberg Ford and the Providence Hospital are now located), putting the 99W well within the city limits. The entrance is still on Portland Road but originally the entrance drive was just past the east side of the marquee. The driveway entrance was moved to the west side of the marquee when a traffic light was installed at the Portland Road/Springbrook Road intersection in the 1960s. The drive-in exit remains on North Springbrook Road. There are six contributing resources on the site: the drive-in sign, parking area, screen, ticket booth, maintenance shop, and the projection booth/concessions building/Twin Cinemas. The buildings lie on the northeastern portion of the property while the screen is to the southwest. The primary parking area is between the screen and the buildings.
HISTORY
(Chronological, descriptive history of the property from its construction through at least the historic period - preferably to the present)
The 99W Drive-In Theatre in Newberg, Oregon, which opened July 31, 1953, is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A, ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION, as a drive-in movie theater reflecting family entertainment trends in the post-World War II era. It also is eligible under Criterion C, ARCHITECTURE, as a rare, remaining, intact example of a drive-in theater. It is one of three remaining drive-ins in Oregon, and the only one extant in Yamhill County. This specific drive-in theater strongly represents the drive-in phenomenon from its rise to its decline, which occurred commensurate with the rise of home entertainment systems. It has been in continual operation from the time it opened, adapting to new entertainment trends over the years. As an important example of mid-century entertainment and car culture, the 99W Drive-In Theatre is a property that reflects the values of its time and continues to function as originally designed. It retains all the components of the property type, expressed in a Modern design with modest Googie-style elements, also a product of the times. Criterion A: Entertainment/Recreation The 99W Drive-In Theatre represents a type of mid-century entertainment that reflects the car culture of the period, consistent with the family-oriented values of the generations it attracted. The 99W Drive-In Theatre was part of a period of explosive growth in the industry in the post-World War II era, followed by a decline in the 1970s and 1980s that put many drive-ins - but not the 99W Drive-In Theatre - out of business. The history of this family-owned theater in Newberg, Oregon, is the local version of a national trend. Through its high integrity of design and function it is able to convey this history. Criterion C: Architecture As one of three extant drive-in theaters in Oregon, the 99W Drive-In Theatre is a rare remaining example of this property type, as well as being an excellent example of mid-20th century styling that reflects modest Googie elements within a Modern building complex. It was built by the Francis family. The buildings and structures were designed to draw people into the drive-in theater and create a unique experience for the audience. Style is not the only significant aspect of the drive-in; function also plays a large role. For example, the form of the 99W Drive-In Theatre sign is designed to draw the eye towards the 99W, and the use of mounds to raise the front of vehicles for better viewing of the movie is a functional component of the design. The integrity of the drive-in and its landscape features greatly enhance its significance, making the 99W Drive-In Theatre an excellent example of drive-in theater.
RESEARCH INFORMATION
Title Records Census Records Property Tax Records Local Histories
Sanborn Maps Biographical Sources SHPO Files Interviews
Obituaries Newspapers State Archives Historic Photographs
City Directories Building Permits State Library
Local Library: University Library:
Historical Society: Other Respository:
Bibliography:
Ackerman, Louise M. “Outdoor Movie Talk.” American Speech, Vol. 32, No. 3: 239-240. Durham: Duke University Press, October 1957. Accessed March 18, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/453838. Corbett, Kevin J. “The Big Picture: Theatrical Movie going, Digital Television, and beyond the Substitution Effect.” Cinema Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2: 17-34. Austin: University of Texas Press, Winter 2001. Accessed March 18, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1225841. Ely, Mark Aston . Beverly Drive-In Theater. National Register Nomination Form, 2008. Francis, Brian. Interview with author, various dates April 2011. Graphics and photos courtesy of Brian Francis through www.99w.com. Gipson, Eric. “Cameo Role,” Boxoffice, October 1999: 28-30. ABccessed April 13, 2011. http://www.boxofficemagazine.com/the_vault/page_thumbnails?issue_id=1999-10-1. Gomery, Douglas. [Untitled Review]. Film Quarterly, Vol. 47, No. 1 (Autumn, 1993): 43-44. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed March 18, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/12131122. Hess, Alan. Googie Redux. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2004. Huffman, Dorothy Jones A. The Everests: A Family History of Yamhill County. Salem, OR: Oregon Historical Society, 1999. Liebs, Chester H. Main Street to Miracle Mile. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1985. Luther, Rodney. “Drive-In Theaters: Rags to Riches in Five Years.” Hollywood Quarterly, Vol. 5, No. 4 (Summer, 1951): 401-411. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed March 18, 2011. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1209619. McKeon, Elizabeth and Linda Everett. Cinema Under the Stars: America's Love Affair With the Drive-In Movie Theater. Kindle edition, Nashville, TN: Cumberland House Publishing, 1998. Shauna S. Ninety-Nine West Twin Cinemas & Drive-In Theaters, Judysbook.com. Accessed April 10, 2011. http://judysbook.com/members/14204/posts/2005/8/79019. Seagrave, Kerry. Drive-In Theaters. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 1992. Suzie H. Ninety-Nine West Twin Cinemas & Drive-In Theaters. Judysbook.com. Accessed April 10, 2011. http://judysbook.com/members/14204/posts/2005/8/79019.